Update Post on my visa run to HCMC, Vietnam with a passport full of Covid extensions.

Got the 60 day tourist visa from the Thai consulate which requires making an appointment as they have limited working hours. Good news is that this means that you get helped nearly immediately. The guy I dealt with wasn't awful, but I wouldn't say he was nice either. Extremely strict and by the rulebook. You need to allow 24-48 hours after your appointment for the visa to be approved and be able pick up your passport.

Experience: 5/10

Problems: Visa is $40 payable only in NEW or EXCELLENT CONDITION USD bills. No Baht or Dong allowed. One of mine was rejected due to a pronounced crease mark in the middle. The bill was still in very good shape. I was shocked he wouldn't take it.

You need to show proof of accommodation for EVERY NIGHT that your visa is good for. This forced me to go make a hotel reservation so that I could print out proof of accommodation. All in all the process took me about 5 hours and 3 attempts to get everything squared away perfectly. This included going to a cafe to try to buy USD off of strangers, which seemed awkward, but worked!

The excellent news was that I flew a direct flight into Chiang Mai and had no problems at all with passport control. I know people are saying you can still get denied even if you have a tourist visa instead of the exempt stamp, but IMO getting the visa from the consulate creates a BIG advantage. It's like you're walking up to the passport window and they see that you've already been previously vetted. All I had to show was proof of onward flight and the whole experience lasted about 45 seconds.

Passport Control experience 10/10

Happy to be back here. Thank you to those who advised me on this. It was a big help.